Chapter 158
Hotel.
All the department employees from the company were there, everyone chatting and laughing.
"Mr. Lowe, come have a drink. You're about to become Vice President, you'll have to look after us from now on."
Kurt sat in the seat of honor, with everyone flattering him.
"Don't say that. I'm not worthy of such praise," Kurt said with a smile, his face full of pretense.
"If Mr. Lowe isn't worthy, then shouldn't we all just leave the company?" Several people chimed in from below, and everyone laughed.
"Mr. Lowe, we've all heard that you're the top candidate for Vice President. First, the Chairman thinks highly of you. Second, all of us support you. Third, even Mr. Smith is wary of you now. If you're not Vice President, who else has the ability?"
"Exactly! If the Vice President position doesn't go to you, we'll all protest."
"Don't say that, I can't be accused of stirring up trouble among company employees," Kurt said with a laugh, raising his hand to signal everyone to quiet down.
Since these people supported him so much, he felt even more confident.
Outside the door, Michael walked in with Nora and David.
Everyone looked at Michael in surprise. "Mr. Smith? You actually came to the team building event yourself?"
"Oh my god, are we seeing this right? That's Mr. Smith, isn't it?"
"It really is Mr. Smith. Why did Mr. Smith come in person? Is it about Mr. Lowe's promotion to Vice President?"
"Looks like it's a done deal, just waiting for the official announcement."
"Everyone quiet down. Mr. Smith is here to say a few words, then he'll leave," David stepped forward, signaling for everyone to be quiet.
But no one listened to David. The scene remained chaotic, with everyone whispering to each other.
Michael remained expressionless, showing nothing but his usual coldness and an unreadable calm.
"Everyone be quiet!" Kurt stood up and walked over with a meaningful smile, "Mr. Smith, please speak."
As soon as Kurt spoke, all the department employees quieted down.
Clearly, they weren't giving David, the President's Special Assistant, any face, but they were giving face to their Project Department Manager.
Kurt was very satisfied. This was also a warning to Michael.
He was a company veteran and naturally understood that making leaders wary was more beneficial for getting work done.
This way, he could control Michael.
No matter how capable Michael was, he was just a young junior. What he needed to do now was build connections, not confront him head-on.
"The Investment Department worked very hard on this project. Everyone worked hard," Michael said in a deep voice, glancing coldly at Kurt.
He couldn't stand this kind of smug attitude from petty people.
But Nora had asked him to be patient, so he reluctantly offered a few words of praise, "Mr. Lowe's abilities have always been something I learn from. When there's time, let's chat privately."
Kurt was grinning from ear to ear, "Mr. Smith, you're too kind. This is everyone's hard work."
Kurt was an old fox who knew that some honors had to be shared with everyone, that's how to have real influence.
After all, if a headhunter came to recruit him, leaving alone versus taking an entire department team with him were completely different things.
"Everyone enjoy yourselves. I have other matters to attend to," Michael turned and left, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
Leaving the hotel, Michael's mood was very low.
Nora followed carefully behind him, her heart pounding nervously.
Michael had made an exception for her.
"Shameless!" David cursed as soon as he got in the car, unable to stand Kurt's disgusting behavior.
"To the Smith Villa," Michael said in a low voice.
Nora pressed nervously against the car door, glancing carefully at Michael.
Going to the Smith Villa meant facing James, Luna, Nolan, and Veda.
Michael kept a straight face the whole time, not saying a word.
He just silently held Nora's hand, signaling her not to be afraid.
Nora looked nervously at David, praying he wouldn't notice.
But Michael didn't seem to care at all whether David would see, and even seemed to deliberately want him to see.
Fortunately, David was focused on driving and never looked back through the rearview mirror.
Hotel.
After Michael and Nora left, Kurt excused himself to use the restroom and went to a quiet corner to call Luna, "Mrs. Smith, it's me. Yes."
"Yes, you guessed right. Michael came to see me. He seemed interested in winning me over. He's clearly worried."
"Then congratulations in advance, Vice President Lowe," Luna said meaningfully.
"If it weren't for your support, I wouldn't be where I am today. Rest assured, no matter what Michael does, I'm your person. Just say the word..." Kurt said obsequiously on the phone.
"Good that you remember. People should be grateful," Luna reminded him with a smile.
"Don't worry, I'm not that kind of person. I remember all the good you've done for me. Back when my family had all those problems, without you, how could I have gotten through it?" Kurt smiled and pledged his loyalty again, "Rest assured, I'll continue to work on the Chairman's side. When the time is right, Mr. James Smith will definitely be the real person in power at the Smith Group."
"Very good. I'll leave the rest to you then."
Luna had high hopes for Kurt.
Kurt was an important chess piece she had carefully positioned.
This chess piece was Luna's trump card.
As long as Kurt successfully took the Vice President position, she would have secured half of the Smith Group for James.
When that time came, no matter how capable Michael was, what could he do? Without people below to execute, this President would have to step down sooner or later.
Kindergarten.
"Mr. Smith, Kurt is Luna's right-hand man and someone Mr. Smith trusts. Are you sure you want to let Nora mess around like this?" Nora had gone to pick up Samuel, and David turned back nervously to look at Michael, "Mr. Smith, you're letting him build his own faction. Did you see those people today? What was that all about? People who didn't know would think Kurt was the President."
"I went through so much trouble and still couldn't get rid of Kurt. Can Nora do it?" David was still worried.
Even if Nora was capable, Michael's trust in her seemed a bit hasty.
"So you should take a good look in the mirror," Michael snorted.
"No, I mean..." David said anxiously, "I'm just worried. Kurt is Luna's ace."
"Then open your eyes wide and watch carefully."
David got out of the car huffily and opened the door for Michael.
Just as Michael was about to get out, he heard a child's taunting voice from the school gate.
"Samuel has no daddy! On Parents' Day, no one came!"
"Samuel, wild child!"
"Wild child nobody wants!"
Joseph was leading the bullying of Samuel, getting the kids to make up songs mocking Samuel for not having a father.
After being scared by Clea last time, Joseph didn't dare physically bully Samuel anymore, so now he'd switched to verbal attacks.
Samuel, carrying his little backpack, said angrily, "I have a daddy!"
"Liar! Where's your daddy then?" the other children laughed at Samuel.
"Yeah, liar."
Samuel's eyes reddened, and he clenched his little fists without saying anything.
"Samuel."
Michael got out of the car, walked to Nora's side, and called out to Samuel.
"Daddy!" Samuel's eyes lit up instantly. He ran out excitedly and threw himself into Michael's arms.
Joseph froze for a moment and shrank back in fear.
He was most afraid of Michael.
"Joseph, why are you running?" Michael said in a deep voice, his tone icy cold.